Today I am so pleased to welcome Meg Bawden to Joyfully Jay. Meg has come to share some questions and answers about her latest release, North to Zombieville. She has also brought along a great giveaway! Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

Hi! Thank you so much for having me. So, my name is Meg, as you know, and I am an Australian author. I’ve always loved writing, but never thought I’d get to a point where I could submit my work to be published. When you’re growing up, being a writer seems like nothing but a dream, but it was a dream I wanted to follow. I’d been writing M/M since 2007, but never had the bravery to submit something, much less finish it to begin with. Dreamspinner Press has always been my first preference and when I finally finished North to Zombieville, I knew it was them who I wanted to submit it to. I expected a rejection, so when I received my acceptance email, I was beyond thrilled. I nearly cried.

North to Zombieville is a science fiction/horror story set in the future. 2029 to be exact. It’s based around a married couple, Dallas and Raleigh Jenson. Dallas is a former army rifleman, while Raleigh is a photographer. During the zombie outbreak, they are driven apart and Dallas makes it his mission of find his husband. When they finally do reunite, the horror of the torn apart city of Townsville, Queensland, has taken a toll on both of them. This story is about survival, love and friendship. It’s about believing in each other and relying on others to survive each and every day against strong and dangerous creatures. It explores the act of surviving during a zombie apocalypse and at what lengths a person would go to in order to live another day. It’s my first novel I completed and I’m quite proud of it. 🙂

 

How difficult was it to get into the main character’s head?

I think to begin with, it’s always a little hard. You have to create a whole new person, but they always have a small part of yourself in them as well. And I find it particularly hard in making sure they aren’t a duplicate of another character I’ve created. You don’t want readers to say that all your characters are the same. It’s one thing that I dread to hear.

 

Is this book a standalone or do you plan on visiting it again?

This book is part of a series called Zombieville. I definitely plan on visiting the boys again.

 

Why did you choose to write M/M stories?

I’m not quite sure. I’ve loved M/M for a while now and it all began with Harry Potter fanfiction. I was a Drarry fan, myself. When I first discovered fanfiction (while looking for Hermione/Harry stories), I was shocked to see the Draco/Harry pairing. I’m not going to lie, I was young at the time, about thirteen/fourteen years old. It never occurred to me that two men could be together, mostly because I lived in a small town and there weren’t very many gay men or women. So out of curiosity, I read a Drarry story and found that I loved it! And since then, I’ve written M/M, both fanfiction and original.

 

Where do you find your inspiration?

It depends on the book. For North to Zombieville, I found my inspiration in playing the game Left 4 Dead 2. My uncle introduced me to the game and I was immediately hooked. When I first began playing it, I wasn’t a fan of zombies. They scared me. But as time went on, I began to watch more zombie films and play more zombie games. So while writing this story, I played Left 4 Dead 2 to inspire me to write more and finish it. This was the first novel I’d ever finished.


Blurb

North to Zombieville by Meg BawdenThe year is 2028, and Dallas and Raleigh Jenson are torn apart when a worldwide zombie apocalypse ravages their home of Townsville, Australia. After a year of searching, Dallas, a former Australian army rifleman, finally reunites with Raleigh, but it’s not like old times. Not only do they have zombies to contend with, but also other humans, changed by desperation and willing to do anything to survive.

Dallas and Raleigh have changed too. So much so, that Dallas struggles with the idea that Raleigh no longer needs or wants his protection. But they will need to rely on each other and find strength in their love as they are forced to evade zombies and watch their friends die. As they fight for their lives in a brutal landscape where every supply and every step toward a potential cure is a battle to the death, only their trust in each other can keep them from perishing.

  • Dreamspinner Ebook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7700
  • Dreamspinner Paperback:
  • http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7701
  • Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/North-Zombieville-Meg-Bawden-ebook/dp/B01EWDJC54
  • AllRomance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-northtozombieville-2029788-145.html

Bio

Meg Bawden was born and raised in North Queensland, Australia. She’s loved stories since before she can remember and has always enjoyed creating characters of her own, even if it did begin with drawing faces on toilet rolls and giving them names. Wiring has always been a passion of hers and she’s loved the M/M genre since 2004, the first book she read being Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez.

Writing M/M since 2007, Meg has never had the confidence to attempt publishing her own stories, but in 2015, she decided that it was all about to change thanks to the amazing friends she’s made in the M/M genre and their support and encouragement. So watch out world, Meg Bawden is coming out to have some fun!

Where to find the author:


Giveaway

Meg has brought a signed copy of North to Zombieville to give away to one lucky reader. Just follow the Rafflecopter below to enter. 

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